I dont think its as bad as some make out.
Furlong has his best years in front of him, he would seem to have the ideal credentials to be a success in an Ismael team, with Ismael signing a four year deal Furlong could play a big part of that.
I think Bartley suffers the same as Johnstone, they were very poor their first season and i think maybe that clouds judgement. Both were two of our better players last season, play to Bartleys strengths and he is fine, he has the odd mistake in him but so does every player.
Phillips can cover a few positions and on his day can do something special, maybe the extension is a year too long but in the championship at least he is a decent player to have.
Should they thrive and have good seasons, without extending their deals, we as fans would moan next summer they could leave for cheaper fees, we have just protected assets, if they are poor or look like they wont step up to the premier league should we get there, we can sell them for a decent fee.
Money is tight we know that, i would imagine we are covering ourself for plan B should we not go up this season, We got rid of a lot of players in the summer, we do need some stability, When players hit 30 nowadays its not the end of their career, you can sell still sell them for decent fees, Villa have just paid £25m for a 29 yr old!
Ismael said everyone has a clean slate and us fans maybe need to do that too, i think all of us do it, perhaps not intentionally, i know i do, but its a new era with somebody completely different to any recent managers and i would imagine he would of had a say on the players extension and approved it.
